Phytochemical Analysis and Anti-malarial Activities of the Ethanol Extract of the Leaves of Cassia Fistula

Abstract

The Synthetic drugs are expensive, scarce, and time-consuming, while plant-derived substances are bio-friendly, cheap, culturally accepted, and compatible with the human body system with minimal side effects. This study aims to investigate the phytochemical and anti-malaria activities of the Ethanol Extract of Cassia Fistula Leaves.

The pulverized leaves of Cassia Fistula were extracted with ethanol and investigated for phytochemicals and characterized with Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (GCMS). The extracts were further fractionated into n-hexane and dichloromethane fractions which were tested against malaria parasites using an animal model.

The results of the phytochemical analysis indicate the presence of alkaloids, tannins, saponins, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, carbohydrates, proteins, triterpenoids and glycosides in the ethanol extract. The antimalarial analysis results revealed some activities in the dichloromethane (1.2 % inhibition) fraction, while the n-hexane fraction was 0.2 % inhibition. The results of the GCMS analysis indicate the presence of cis-Vaccenic acid, Hexadecanoic acid, Octadecanoic acid, Hexadecanoic acid, ethyl ester, Octacosanol, 1-Heneicosanol. These studies have revealed the potential of the extracts of the leaves of C. fistula as a candidate for the development of new useful drugs.